Southern Europe remains attractive to foreign investors. Americans lead the search for buying a home in Italy
Despite the impact of the new coronavirus pandemic on the real estate market, the demand for buy a house in Italy continues to rise.
This is what a study carried out by Idealista, one of the largest real estate portals in southern Europe, shows.
According to the group's analysis, between June and September, those most interested in buying a house in Italy were from USA, UK and Germany. Properties located along the coast are the most sought after.
The study also analyzed the real estate market in the coastal areas of Portugal and Spain.
In search of a Mediterranean style to live
The benefits of life in southern Europe, including a mild climate, good food, and extensive social benefits, continue to attract attention "abroad."
The USA is the most active country in house hunting close to the coast, heading the list of the three countries in this period.
The truth is that many North Americans, but also Portuguese, Spanish and Italian residents on the other side of the Atlantic, are once again looking to the south of the Old Continent, in search of a new home or even a second residence.
Although demand from the USA is more common in Portugal, North American demand surpasses British demand in Spain and German demand in Italy, which until now led the origin of external demand.
Brazilians and French prefer Portugal, says the study.
According to the study, those who want to buy a house in Italy opt for coastal areas surrounded by the Tyrrhenian, Ionian and Adriatic seas – they were approached by 317 North Americans.
Evolution of international demand
International demand has been affected since March, due to mobility restrictions, which make it difficult for investors interested in buying a home to enter. But from May onwards, a recovery, especially in Italy and Spain, which maintained positive demand levels.
even though Italy Having been the European area where the beginning of the first wave of Covid-19 had the greatest impact, the country is now showing a great recovery, with an average increase of six percentage points in the third quarter compared to the same period of the previous year. In fact, 16% of visits to idealista Italy last summer came from places outside its borders.
Prices were not affected
Therefore, prices were not greatly affected by the economic crisis. Although it is necessary to wait for the evolution of the pandemic, in the midst of the second wave, and with encouraging news of effective vaccines that could arrive in early or mid-2021.
In all three countries, it coincides that coastal cities tend to have a higher unit price than the rest of the territory. Since April, the inventory of homes for sale has increased slightly in Italy and Spain, although it has decreased in Portugal.
These coastal areas, mainly oriented towards tourism, suffered most from the impact of Covid-19 due to mobility restrictions, which prevented millions of tourists from arriving in the summer.
Still, prices did not fall substantially as many expected in early March. The moratoriums applied to housing credit, the different support for maintaining employment in each country and the low interest rates across Europe have supported this stabilization of prices.
How much does it cost to buy a house in Italy
According to Idealistic, the greatest demand for buying a house in Italy leads in the Tuscany region, such as Lucca (2.502 euros / m2), Grosseto (2.413 euros / m2), Livorno (2.177 euros / m2), divided between contacts from the USA and Germany .
Further south, at the heel of the boot of the Italian peninsula, the Apulia region is somewhat more accessible (1.166 euros/m2), with prominent areas in Bari (1.453 euros/m2); Barletta-Andria-Trani (1.347 euros/m2) or Brindisi (1.172 euros/m2) where demand from the USA and Germany is once again strong.
On the Italian islands, interested parties from Germany dominate the coastal municipalities of Sardinia (1.504 euros/m2), but it is demand from the USA that commands the capital, Cagliari.
A situation that is repeated in Sicily (1.064 euros/m2), with the USA showing demand in the large cities of Palermo and Catania, and Germany in the remaining municipalities of the Mediterranean island.
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